Reproducibility of running time to exhaustion at VO,,,4, in subelite runners VERONIQUE BILLAT, JEAN C. RENOUX, JACQUES PINOTEAU, BERNARD PETIT, and JEAN P. KORALSZTEIN Laboratoire S.TA.PS., Université Paris XII, F-94010 Créteil cedex, FRANCE; and Centre de Medecine du Sport C.CA.S., F-75010 Paris, FRANCE ABSTRACT BILLAT, V. J. C. RENOUX, J. PINOTEAU, B. PETTY and J.P KORALSZTEIN. Reproducibility of runing time 10 exhaustion at Yona slimes Mad 8. Spor re Vl 26.0.2 2542387, 1996. The purpse of this stody was to ases the reproduc: iy of waning tine exhuton (Fi) at maximal seo eed (MAS: the minimum speed that elicits VOngy) on eight subelit ale {ong dance, rune (9 Syl Wore = O92 42 ‘ i; MAS = 21.25 = 1 kmh!) No significant dite ‘ences were observed benweenTlim measred oma treadmill at a 1-vk interval (408 101 s ve 402 113 5: r= 0864); however, obser- ‘vation of individual data indicates a wide witin-subjecs variability (CV'= 25%), tna small and bomogenous sample of runners studied, txcrcise time to exhaustion at MAS was not related 10 VOrmn (f= 136), MAS (¢ = 0.241, ronning economy (alOzkg-!mis™ a 16 89 (¢ = 0.024), or running performance achieved for 3000 m (Gah) (¢= 0667)" However, Tim at MAS was si tothe lactate threshold determined by the dsinctveaceleraio pat heced i uae cave avind 33 nel expe 56VO ama (¢ = 0.745) and othe speed over 221 1-km race (¢~ O79), These data demonstrate that runing time to exhaustion at ‘MAS in sbelite male long distance runners related 10 long distance performance and lactate hresbold butt 10 VOnnux ot MAS. [EXERCISE TIME TO EXHAUSTION, FATIGUE, LACTATE ‘THRESHOLD, RUNNING PERFORMANCE, MAXIMAL AEROBIC: inverse relationship between exercise time to I ‘exhaustion (Tlim) (12) and power output sustained hhas been described using various hyperbolic or exponential models (3,11,12,18,19,23,24), since the pio- reer work of Hill (12) in 1927. These relationships have been used to estimate by interpolation or extrapolation the Tlim at VOamex oF at the maximal aerobic speed (MAS) (14). Ditect measurements of MAS (5,7,12,13,17, 21,22,23,25) (Table 1) indicate that the average Tlim at Copy © 19 ye Rtn Clee of prt Mai ‘Sein or pinion epee 192 ‘ecg pnin Sper 198. 254 ‘VOsmax of MAS ranges between 2 min 30 s (15) and 10 min (11,16). In none of these studies, however, has the reproducibility of Tlim at VOamax of MAS been assessed. This question deserves further investigation since it has been suggested that the direct measurement of this vari- able could be included in the assessment of the athlete (eg, runner) (4), and since it can be expected that small changes in the athlete’s fatigue and/or training state (6,10,20) could significantly modify the result obtained on a test that is very demanding. The purpose of this study was, thus, to assess the reproducibility of Tlim at MAS (defined as the minimal speed that elicits the VOsmx) (14) in a group of subelite ‘male runners. In addition, the relationships between Tlim at MAS and other bioenergetic characteristics of the run- ners were studied. METHODS Subjects. The study was conducted on eight subelite male runners. Their age, body mass, and height were 29.3 + 3 yr (mean * SD), 69 + 5.9 kg, and 178 + 4cm. The average running speed sustained by the runners for 3000-m and half-marathon (21.1 km) races were 20.6 0.9 km-br? and 18 + 0.7 km-h", respectively. The sub- jects gave their written informed consent to participate in the study, according to the French Comité National de la Recherche Clinique. . Experimental protocol. The VOomex, MAS, and lac- tate threshold (LT) were measured ina preliminary test session using a progressive exercise protocol on treadmill (Gymrol 1800). The initial speed was set at 12 km-h* (0% slope) and was increased 2 km-h" every 3 min up to 80% of the runner's speed over a 3-km race, and by 1 km-h"? thereafter. In the last 30 s of tach workload, a” fingertip blood sample was obtained and analyzed for lactate concentration (Bioblock). The Tlim at MAS was[RUNNING TIME TO EXHAUSTION Offi Joumal of the American Collge of Sports Medicine 255 TABLE 1, Tim a near MAS in previous suds, us, Te ‘Sebhecs Eponeir 2 aan “Tana males Boye 2 ‘omits Talo male Tack * 21 min 5 “Teed faales Tack 8 Tin 18 $ arated mais Tat s anh Trloed males, Bot s ‘smin Unrated aes Taam 6 mn 195 Untrained aes Boyce 10 Simin 40s ‘nid nd Tred mes Beyae 10 Sm 27s Tied males Tet 100 10m Tres males Boyce 10 ‘smn Trained males Boyae 00 tome araied aes Boyoe 105 4m 585 Trine ales Trek 105 min 50 Tins ales Tract then measured on the treadmill on two occasions sepa- rated by 1 wk. Following a 20-min warm-up period at 60% MAS, the speed was quickly increased (less than 20 8) up to the MAS and the subject was encouraged ver- bally to run to exhaustion. The VOz and VCOz were computed every 15 s (Jaeger Eosprint). Heart rate (HR) was also monitored (Siemens electrocardioscope) and recorded (Sportester PE 3000) throughtout each test. The criteria used for VOomex were: a plateau in VOz despite ‘an increase in running speed; respiratory exchange ratio above 1.1; HR over 90% of the predicted maximal HR (1). The MAS was the lower running speed that elicited 42 equal VO2 to VOomas. For the determination of the LT, the relationship between blood lactate concentrations and ‘was analyzed independently by two investigators. The LT ‘was defined as the corresponding to a marked accelera- tion in the lactate curve around 3.5 mM (2). The running economy (RE) was expressed as the oxygen cost of run- ning at 16 km-b~, in ml-kg™-min™ (8), Finally, the average speeds sustained over 3000 m and 21.1 km were expressed in km-b"? and %MAS. Statistics. Data are reported as mean standard devia- tion. Means were using Student’s test for paired data at 5% level of confidence. RESULTS. ‘Table 2 shows the VO2maxs MAS, and LT, expressed in keh“ and %VOzmu, measured in the eight subjects. ‘The VO, and HR achieved during the two running test: to exhaustion (68.6 vs 69.5 ml-kg~'-min™*, and 187 vs. 189 bpm), and the final blood lactate concentrations (8.2 vs 8.7 mM) were not significantly different from the corresponding values observed at the end of the progres: sive maximal test for measuring VOzmu (692 mi-kg™-min™’, 190 bpm, and 9 mM, respectively). Ex. crcise times to exhaustion were not tly differen on the first and second test (6 min 44 s 1 min 41 s vs ¢ min 42 s 1 min 53 s) and were significantly correlatec (¢ = 0.864) (Fig. 1). The correlation coefficients com puted between Tlim, and 1) the bioenergetic characteris tics of the runners, and 2) the running speed sustaincc cover 3000-m and half-marathon races, for the eigh runners are shown in Table 3. A significant correlatio: coefficient was only observed between Tlim and LT ex pressed in VOamax (f= 0.745) (Fig. 2) and the sustained over a 21.1-km race expressed in km-h” 0.719) Fig. 3). DISCUSSION ‘The main finding from this study is that the measure ment of Tlim at MAS in a laboratory setting is reproduc ‘ble in a group of subelite runners at 1-wk interval. How ever, although the average values measured are ver ‘lose (only a 2-5 difference) and the correlation coeffi cient is moderately high (r = 0.864), examination o ‘Table 2 and Figure 1 reveals substantial differences be ‘TABLE 2 ln ata, WMS Coie ST CNGPdim VOT vom VeIem Tint Tim ‘Sebect meg emir tg? ee Wen) 1 So ms ua es BS a a 2 m2 Bs a3 ws 2 739 md as ws mm a m2 m5 as 5 ws 169 we 181 os mat 4 m3 mo 0 5 OTS 78 ao ma 2 5 es 20 53 73881 az wo Ft rn re ne 5 ao a0 m4 ws 88 1785 50 me 65 5H T ms 25 3 ms 880 a8 50 | a 8 eat zo a7 m2 Bt a5 m0 m8 54 SI Mean os 225 aa wo oT 1800 50 a 73 80 a2 120 3 a 50 a70 57 09 5m e211 tmspeed ovr a 21 rn nce ‘ve3000 speed ever & 3000 ra,256 Offcal Jounal ofthe American College of Sports Medicine Tin 2 00) 888 8 8 8 [MEDICINE AND SCIENCE IN SPORTS AND EXERCISE. Tht) 8888828 200 300 400 S00 «G00 700 Tint fone Ope (ri) ry ore wer} zat 0585 RE (bg mi 16k) ogee oss UT inary ost 068 Tan 1 (} 28888 8 ieee acieeciaecs UT aay Figure 2—Rslationship between Tim and lactate threshold (MAS). tween the individual data on the two tests: the average absolute difference is 44 s or approximately 10% of the value of Tlim, and in three of eight subjects this differ- ence exceeds 60 s. These observations suggest that the measurement of Tlim at MAS in a laboratory setting could be reliable in a group of subjects and that the average value could be used for studying the effects of REFERENCES 1. Asano, P.O. and 1 Rvonans. A nomogram for calalation of acrobic capacity (physical fimess) from pulse rate during rub- work. J. Appl Physiol. 7:218-222, 1954, S-and H. 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